


midnight rising.

by lushwang (theangryblob)



Series: open roads. [3]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Criminals, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Character Death, Slightly Non-Linear, Violence, but its there!, good old art robbery babie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:08:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22230832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theangryblob/pseuds/lushwang
Summary: delayed gratification can be just as good, really. junhui's just not good at waiting for it.but for joshua? he could do anything.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Series: open roads. [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/969310
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	midnight rising.

**Author's Note:**

> what do you mean i havent updated frost bite in months
> 
> / unbetaed. let me know if there's typos/mistakes/inconsistencies.

he’s convinced he’ll go crazy if he thinks about it too long. there’s only so much he can take, watching joshua stroll through the hall, drink in his hand, careful with his greetings, always ducking out of the way at just the right moment. you see him only if he wants you to. he disappears when he likes. 

(that first night - the first time. junhui had scanned the bar, picked his targets, eyed them meticulously for an opening. he’d watched one man stand up, drunk and stumbling, heading to the bathroom. junhui had watched his back, eyes following him across the room when his gaze meets someone else’s, watching him before junhui even noticed. 

_ look at me. _

junhui looks. how could he not have noticed from the beginning?)

they don’t really hit places like these - certainly not  _ events. _ it’s not so much the attention or security that makes junhui wary - they’ve drawn attention to themselves in plenty of ways and have, one way or another, disappeared, closed themselves to the eyes of the world. 

_ you see us when we let you. _

it’s not the security either, though this is enough to make him pause. there’s a number of security guards posted around the edge of the hall, stone still and watching, standing against the walls, close but never a part of the glittery party. it’s a fundraiser and junhui is vaguely aware of the politician standing at the front of the room, speaking casually, confidently. he’d be charismatic if junhui cared, but he hasn’t looked at the news in years. 

(he thinks he’d know joshua even if all his senses were cut off. can feel him from miles away, can count down the minutes till they’re reunited, even if he can’t ever say exactly when. it’s so simple with him. _ i will come back to you. you will come back to me. _ they don’t revolve around each other as much as they sew themselves into each other’s lives. the stitches between them will never snap.)

really, it’s the effort.

it’s not that they’ve never planned a robbery before but junhui really doesn’t care for it, he just  _ doesn’t. _ he’s not ashamed to admit he wants instant gratification, he wants the feeling of cold hard cash in his hands and the confirmation that nothing can take it from him. he’ll sit through this for joshua, follow the instructions to a tee, but it doesn’t fill him with the rush that he’s used to. 

he turns his head, eyes narrowing for a moment before they find joshua. the relief is instantaneous - knowing where he is,  _ seeing him. _ just the thought of him is medicine, better than any drug. 

(of course junhui went to him. moth to flame, hands burning, mouth burning, eyes alight. he registered his name only barely, purred when the man touched his chest. he looked young, his age, maybe.  _ focus, _ he’d told himself. he’d always been simple, singular in his goals. it’s hard to focus on more than one thing at a time. the goal has always been the same - money - but joshua crooked a finger into junhui’s belt, looked up at him with those eyes. 

his smile has always been so sweet, words floating like a cold breath. junhui would have let him fuck him right then and there, right in front of every one. would have let them see. 

it was so painful, reminding himself again after that.)

the lead up to this had been exhausting. for joshua, mostly, but junhui was there too, watching, listening, waiting. they’d bought a laptop just for the occasion, hooked it up to the hotel’s shitty wifi just so joshua could see everything they’d deal with. junhui would come back for the night, wallet a little heavier, heart aching for just the sight of him. 

joshua’s got this habit of biting his thumb when he’s thinking, and junhui finds it endlessly endearing, wants to smooth out the furrow in his brows but always stops himself. the sight is too cute to ruin, so he settles for calling room service and counting bills by joshua’s side, listening to him talk. 

(it reminds him too much of what never was. joshua used to be a student before he gave it all up for junhui.)

the thought sits wrong inside of him, so he kisses him, feeds him dinner and coos before he insists on putting away the laptop and pulling him under the blankets. it’s only them, it’ll only ever be the two of them. the two of them locked away, hearts beating in sync, hidden away from the world. 

they need this, every once in a while. petty crime keeps them afloat but the rush is never the same. it’s always too easy.

he supposes he should be thankful, even if the wait nearly kills him every time. if it weren’t for joshua he’d have died of boredom years ago. 

even if it means playing dress up now.

it’s not the first time he’s donned a costume for a job but serving drinks is hardly the classy act he thought joshua would put him up to. he’s been flirted with plenty in his life, but not so discreetly asking if he’s an escort, smiling at his answer, and asking if he’d like to be one is where he draws the line. 

this is precisely why he’d never survive with a real job. he’d kill himself before he makes it through a full hour of customer service. 

another waiter gives him a sympathetic smile when junhui busts through the kitchen door, declaring that he’s going to quit right then and there. no one’s really paying attention to him, he wasn’t even  _ hired _ in the first place, but  _ god. _ he’s going to be complaining about this for weeks, he doesn’t care what the pay-off is. they should be out there, robbing every one of those bastards blind. the  _ ego _ of these people - just thinking about it makes him want to rip his hair out. 

the clock ticks and eventually the phone in his pocket buzzes and the relief that rushes through him is instantaneous. just the thought of joshua - utter bliss.

he finds him upstairs.

he’s taken off his blazer by now, the top button of his pressed shirt digging into his throat. it looks uncomfortable but joshua just smiles, eyes bright as he walks over to him, gloved hands reaching up to touch him. junhui pulls him in without thinking, kisses his mouth like he’s coming home. this - the headiness, the satisfaction of moving back into his arms, knowing that all the pieces are coming together. this is better than anything else.

joshua breaks the kiss but he doesn’t pull away. “help me with this, c’mon.”

junhui hasn’t even seen the painting yet. joshua’s got it wrapped up and cushioned for the journey out of the city. they’ve avoided stealing art for so long because it’s worthless - too easy to track, too easy to get caught. but joshua knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy and now junhui knows him himself. a willing buyer, a hefty price. makes it all worth it, if just for the feeling of joshua’s racing heart in his chest, thrumming under junhui’s hand.

(he’s never not looking for him - junhui is always looking for him, even when he thinks he isn’t. it’s obsessive, the way he craves him, needs him, wants him. there is nothing better than knowing joshua wants him too, eager hands and eager heart.

all of this is for him. the gold, the diamonds, the money. he wants to see a different chain in joshua’s mouth every time he fucks him. 

_ you’re spoiling me, _ joshua tells him, smiling, endeared. but junhui can only think:  _ you spoil me too. _ _ you give me everything. _ )

junhui holds open the door for joshua, the cool night air a blessing on his skin. the fire escape swings shut behind them but just before it clicks shut a hand shoots out, pushing it open. 

joshua turns around, eyes wide.

he doesn’t even think about it, pushing the guard to the ground, tearing the ear piece out before he can alert anyone to their presence. he manages to kick out junhui’s leg but he doesn’t let go, crawling up to sit on his torso, hands around his neck,  _ squeezing. _

he counts the seconds. feels joshua’s eyes on him, watching, waiting. he squeezes harder. 

when the security guard stops struggling junhui waits, uses his thumb to look for the pulse in his neck. he relents only when he doesn’t find it. 

joshua’s hand cups his face and junhui turns, leaning forward to nuzzle his chest. 

“baby,” the sound of his voice. there’s nothing better, nothing. cool hands on his elbow, drawing his attention. “you’re hurt.”

he hadn’t noticed. there’s a bruise forming, scratches along his arm, and when he thinks about it the pain slowly starts budding in his shin. it’ll hurt much more in the morning. junhui shrugs. “it’s not that bad.”

(they don’t belong anywhere, really, but junhui feels freest when they’re back on the road. nothing but them and the hundreds of miles of asphalt, the desert looming around them like an ocean. the land has never been empty but it’s always welcomed him, just as it welcomes everything he carries. the heat burns away all their secrets. junhui never comes out of it a new man because he hardly feels like he comes out of it all. the sun burns away everything but the bare necessities. joshua. him. the tether between them.

for all its infamy, he’s rather fond of vegas. easy targets, never ending drinks, the hedonism of watching the sweat drip down joshua’s throat. the heat is oppressive, always just at the edge of the city, making his vision swim like the air itself is cooking him alive. 

nothing matters outside of the city, not if they don’t want it to. it’s easy to make friends here though, knowing how quickly they can break these bonds. joshua’s certainly good at it, friendly laugh and wandering hands. junhui watches, knows joshua wants him to. it’s a different kind of greed, knowing that everything joshua does is for him and wanting to see that reaffirmed over and over again.)

he falls asleep in the car on the way to the pick up point. it’s far out of the city and with the moonlight coming in through the window and the lines of cactus dotting the highway junhui closes his eyes. 

it’s only when there’s tapping at his window that he rises, frowning as he smacks his lips together, the taste of sleep pulling him back. 

xu minghao grins, all teeth and hidden agendas. junhui doesn’t trust him, but he’s easy enough to get along with, if a little icy. he steps back when junhui opens the car door. joshua stands in front of the trunk, unwrapping the painting carefully.

it’s a little anti-climactic. he’s never care for modern art and he can’t imagine why minghao would pay twenty six thousand dollars for a splatter of red and blue on a canvas. maybe there’s gold in the paint. 

minghao whistles and junhui can’t help but grin a little. it’s hard to hate him, he’ll give him that. they don’t keep bedmates for long but after junhui helps take the painting to his car minghao rests a hand on the curve of junhui’s back, smiling against the skin of his neck when he murmurs his thank you. he can feel his hand burning through his shirt, hot against his back. maybe joshua has a point when he plans all this out. he’s certainly watching him now, eyes boring into his skin, hot hot  _ hot. _

(“it’s all for you,” joshua had whispered, practiced hands quickly unbuttoning junhui’s shirt.

he groans, bites his place onto joshua’s neck beside the diamond choker he insists on keeping on. “all of this is for you.”

he can’t tell anymore if he’s talking about the dress or the blood on it or the way joshua crawls onto his lap and kisses him like he’s pulling the heart out from between his ribs. he’s sure he means all of that and more. junhui thinks he’s going crazy, crazy just thinking about him.)

they don’t take minghao home with them that night but junhui thinks about it. he stares at joshua in the driver’s seat, who’s adamantly not looking at him. 

he cracks though, eventually, a sheepish smile on his face. “you going to tell me why you’re staring?”

junhui grins. the sun sits on the horizon, fat and round and white, burning light spreading out over the desert. blinding. “nothing. i’m just glad this worked out.”

in the backseat, a briefcase full of cash, every dollar accounted for.

joshua scoffs. “of course it did. you think it’d go any other way for us?”

he wants to say no, of course not, but he just giggles. “dunno. what if minghao didn’t hold up his end of the bargain?”

joshua just hums, fingers tapping the steering wheel. “then we’d kill him, wouldn’t we?”

junhui smiles, reclining into his seat, the tension finally slipping from his shoulders. the sentiment warrants them pulling over and climbing into the backseat, but junhui’s too tired so he settles for reaching across and holding his hand, heart fluttering when joshua kisses his knuckles, eyes never leaving the road. that kind of focus - always on him, no matter what else comes in the way. 

(years pass before he knows it. days pass on the road like seconds, sunlight burning his retinas and frying his brain till he can’t tell left from right anymore. the only constant is joshua at his side, the need to always be near him. 

the years pass and the cities change but the longing never fades.)

“of course,” he murmurs, sleep finally reaching him, “wouldn't that be fun?"

**Author's Note:**

> i have a lot of unfinished one shots in this au - i'm rather fond of it, but a lot of those will remain unfinished, if only because its easier to write this kind of stuff in one sleep deprived sitting. i'll put them them up! one day! maybe!


End file.
